Six Steps

Step 1:	Registering Online
Step 2:	Selecting Case & Category
	A. The Importance of Business Results
	B. Canadian Content Requirements
	C. Other Entry Requirements
	D. The Categories
Step 3:	Getting Buy-In & Approval
Step 4:	Writing the Case
Step 5:	Getting Materials Ready for Submission
Step 6:	Submission/Fees

 

Deadline for Entries

August 2, 2012 by Noon (Eastern Standard Time)

Step 2: Selecting Case and Category

To win at the CASSIES your case has to show impressive business results, and you have to prove, convincingly, that these results are substantially caused by your advertising.

2A. The Importance of Business Results

Definition of Business Results

Business Results are “hard” measures such as sales, shipments, share, consumption, and/or profitability.

For non-business categories (Not-for-Profit and Government & Advocacy), we recognize that results are often measured more in terms of awareness and attitudes. Even so, we urge case writers to provide “hard” numbers to the maximum extent possible e.g. changes in behaviour (in addition to attitudes), donations received, number of people signed up etc.

The Business Results Period. Your case has to be based on a Business Results Period, and this BRP must be made up of consecutive months. (This is to prevent cherry-picking the best months.) Review the categories in Section C. Then pick the category that best suits your case, according to this table:

Business Results Period	Enter In
From one day to 6+ consecutive months	Events, Seasonal and Short-Term (See Notes following this table)
6 - 12+ consecutive months	Off to a Good Start
12 or more consecutive months	Any of the "12 month" categories in Section 2D
24 or more consecutive months	Sustained Success
6 - 12+ consecutive months	Best Insight; Best Integrated Program; Best Use of Media: Canadian Success Outside Canada
12 or more consecutive months	Best Launch; Small Budget; Canadian Contribution to a Global or Multi-Country Campaign.

Notes:
Events, Seasonal and Short-Term includes effort like Elections or the Saturn Picnic, it also includes shorter-term effort such as RRSP Season, Christmas and Easter campaigns, a Summer tourism blitz etc.

Deciding the start and end of the Business Results Period (BRP)

Since your BRP defines the period affected by your advertising, it should start when your advertising starts. If your advertising starts mid-month, choose either that month, or the next one, as the first month in the BRP.

The BRP should end at a sensible time. For convenience, this is usually something like three, six or twelve months later, or the end of a calendar or fiscal year. If your end-date looks unusual, judges will wonder if you are trying to include (or exclude) an abnormal effect. So if an unusual end date is justified, give an explanation.

Why the BRP has to be consecutive months.

Judges want to see the cumulative effect of advertising over the entire campaign period, including the months that did not have ad support. Suppose you launched new advertising-with a 3-month flight starting in February, then a summer hiatus, and then a second 3-month flight starting in September. You would choose February through the following January (12 consecutive months) as your BRP. You would show hard numbers like sales, shipments, share, consumption for this 12-month period, and ideally you would also find a way to indicate ROI or profitability.

Do I have to show data for every month, or just the total?

You can provide just the total-though many case-writers show individual months on a chart that also shows when the advertising ran. This helps illustrate cause and effect. The amount of detail is up to you. Be guided by what it will take to be convincing.

Additional points about the BRP

The first "advertising" for a campaign might be a PR or Web event. or in-store activity. It is perfectly acceptable to use non-traditional advertising to define the start your BRP if you want to.

Some non-business categories may not have "consecutive months of results" - and may have to rely on pre and post research. This is acceptable for these categories only.

What defines success?

Most CASSIES winners show business growth. However, there are other ways to show success:

• Helping a stable brand maintain a highly profitable business over the long term.
• Helping a brand repel a significant competitive threat.
• Helping a brand/company improve its stock price. (The "Orange" telecom case won a major award on this basis at the IPA Effectiveness Awards in the UK.)

Note: Judges are looking for evidence that advertising, in the broadest sense, adds value to a business or a brand. If the business results are substantially driven by price-cutting, or other forms of discounting, it is unlikely that the judges will award a CASSIES prize.

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